The People's Bank of China announced today (March 1, 2023) that it would maintain the loan market benchmark rate (LPR), the de facto benchmark interest rate, at 3.7% for 1 year and 4.6% for 5 years, the same as last month. The decision indicates that the People's Bank of China maintains its current loose monetary policy stance to support economic growth. The loan market benchmark rate (LPR) is the loan interest rate offered by commercial banks to their best customers. It is formulated by the People's Bank of China and is a benchmark for measuring domestic loan costs in China. The central bank's announcement that the LPR remains unchanged indicates that the central bank is cautious about the current economic situation and continues to maintain an accommodative monetary policy to support economic growth.